Crosscare – which provides Homeless Services, Information and Advocacy services and Youth services, working with over 12,000 young people – has expressed disappointment at the continued failure of the Government to reverse cuts to Jobseekers Allowance for adults under 26 experiencing homelessness in Budget 2018.

Conor Hickey, Crosscare CEO said: “The renewed investment of €1.8bn in social housing and €149m for the housing assistance scheme is a welcome development and essential to address the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis. This will provide additional and urgent support to many of the families and individuals we work with. However, failure to reverse cuts on Jobseekers Allowance for adults under 26 who are experiencing homelessness will continue to impose a significant negative impact on them and society.

“Crosscare strongly recommended the restoration of a full adult rate for jobseekers under 26 who are experiencing homelessness or who have recently exited homelessness and are living independently with no social supports. These young adults are forced to manage on a significantly lower income and are experiencing extreme poverty. They have been failed to be supported by the government to move out of homelessness and sustain an independent living” said Mr Hickey.

“The increase of €5 per week on primary social welfare payments is welcome for all those managing on a lower budget, and will help many households that Crosscare works with. Yet, this increase still denies proportionate equity of access for young adults under 26 who still experience the same cost of living as other adults and are essentially living in poverty” continued Mr Hickey.

“We do however welcome the roll-out of the new Youth Employment Support Scheme nationally. The scheme will aim to target young long-term unemployed adults and adults with additional support needs by providing support to engage in work experience placements. It is important that the Department secures sufficient work experience placements to ensure the success of this programme”

Crosscare said that it has been inundated with demand for housing and homeless supports since last year’s budget and the implementation of Rebuilding Ireland, yet the crisis continues to have a devastating impact on households experiencing homelessness. It said it is working tirelessly with the authorities to provide immediate responses to demand. It has consistently called for rent certainty and housing provision as immediate prevention responses to the homeless crisis. It calls for the investments announced today to be implemented with immediate effect.